APRIL 13, 2000 -  Safety Officers from the Occupational Health, General Industry, and Construction Safety Divisions of the CIS Bureau of Safety and Regulation began their worker safety investigation within a couple of hours of the explosion uesterday afternoon at the Lomac plant in Muskegon.

Due to the chemical nature of the materials used at the plant, the Occupational Health Division Safety Officer will take the lead in this investigation.

Employees from three different companies were injured in the blast.  Our investigation will center on aol three employers and will be looking at what was going on at the work site from a worker safety perspective.  Investigations of this type can take months to complete.  Our safety officers are required to interview witnesses including those who were injured once they are well enough.

As an initial summary, the Bureau of Safety and Regulation has performed anumber of inspections at both Lomac LLC, Muskegon and Northern Boiler, Muskegon.  It does not appear we have any worker safety history on Bertsch Supply Co., Muskegon Heights.

Lomac LLC.  We have performed 20 safety or health inspections since 1990:  12 by Occupation Health, 7 by General Industry Safety, and 1 by Construction Safety.  There were a total of 80 violations.

Northern Boiler Mechanical Contractors Inc.  We have performed a total of 22 safety or health inspections since 1990:  18 by Construction Safety Division and 4 by Occupational Health.  There were a total of 28 violations cited.

We will provide a more detailed summary of both these companies' safety histories as soon as possible.

Out investigators are not available for interviews.  Any media questions should be directed to the CIS Media Relations office at 517.373.9280.

Read more Michigan Department of Consumer & Industry Services press releases.